Celery cultivar TBG31

ABSTRACT

A celery cultivar, designated TBG31, is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of celery cultivar TBG31, to the plants of celery cultivar TBG31 and to methods for producing a celery plant by crossing the cultivar TBG31 with itself or another celery cultivar. The invention further relates to methods for producing a celery plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic celery plants and plant parts produced by those methods. This invention also relates to celery cultivars or breeding cultivars and plant parts derived from celery cultivar TBG31, to methods for producing other celery cultivars, lines or plant parts derived from celery cultivar TBG31 and to the celery plants, varieties, and their parts derived from the use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid celery seeds, plants, and plant parts produced by crossing cultivar TBG31 with another celery cultivar.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinctive celery (Apium graveolens var. dulce) variety, designated TBG31. All publications cited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.

There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis, definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possesses the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety or hybrid an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include improved flavor, increased stalk size and weight, higher seed yield, improved color, resistance to diseases and insects, tolerance to drought and heat, and better agronomic quality.

All cultivated forms of celery belong to the species Apium graveolens var. dulce that is grown for its edible stalk. As a crop, celery is grown commercially wherever environmental conditions permit the production of an economically viable yield. In the United States, the principal growing regions are California, Florida, Arizona and Michigan. Fresh celery is available in the United States year-round, although the greatest supply is from November through January. For planting purposes, the celery season is typically divided into two seasons: summer and winter, with Florida and the southern California areas harvesting from November to July, and Michigan and northern California harvesting from July to October. Celery is consumed as fresh, raw product and as a cooked vegetable.

Celery is a cool-season biennial that grows best from 60° F. to 65° F. (16° C. to 18° C.), but will tolerate temperatures from 45° F. to 75° F. (7° C. to 24° C.). Freezing damages mature celery by splitting the petioles or causing the skin to peel, making the stalks unmarketable. This can be a problem for crops planted in the winter regions; however, celery can tolerate minor freezes early in the season.

The two main growing regions for celery in California are located along the Pacific Ocean: the central coast or summer production area (Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo Counties) and the south coast or winter production area (Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties). A minor region (winter) is located in the southern deserts (Riverside and Imperial Counties).

In the south coast, celery is transplanted from early August to April for harvest from November to mid-July; in the Santa Maria area, celery is transplanted from January to August for harvest from April through December. In the central coast, fields are transplanted from March to September for harvest from late June to late December. In the southern deserts, fields are transplanted in late August for harvest in January.

Commonly used celery varieties for coastal production include Tall Utah 52-75, Conquistador and Sonora. Some shippers use their own proprietary varieties. Celery seed is very small and difficult to germinate. All commercial celery is planted as greenhouse-grown transplants. Celery grown from transplants is more uniform than from seed and takes less time to grow the crop in the field. Transplanted celery is traditionally placed in double rows on 40-inch (100-cm) beds with plants spaced between 6.0 and 7.0 inches apart.

Celery requires a relatively long and cool growing season (The physiology of vegetable crops by Pressman, CAB Intl., New York, 1997). Earlier transplanting results in a longer growing season, increased yields, and better prices. However, celery scheduled for Spring harvest often involves production in the coolest weather conditions of Winter, a period during which vernalization can occur. If adequate vernalization occurs for the variety, bolting may be initiated. Bolting is the premature rapid elongation of the main celery stem into a floral axis (i.e., during the first year for this normally biennial species). Bolting slows growth as the plant approaches marketable size leaves a stalk with no commercial value. Different varieties have different vernalization requirements, but in the presence of bolting, the length of the seed stem can be used as a means of measuring bolting tolerance that exists in each different variety. The most susceptible varieties reach their vernalization requirement earlier and have time to develop the longest seed stems, while the moderately tolerant varieties take longer to reach their vernalization requirement and have less time to develop a seed stem which would therefore be shorter. Under normal production conditions, the most tolerant varieties may not achieve their vernalization requirement and therefore not produce a measurable seed stem.

The coldest months when celery is grown in the United States are December, January and February. If celery is going to reach its vernalization requirements to cause bolting, it is generally younger celery that is exposed to this cold weather window. This celery generally matures in the months of April and May which constitutes what the celery industry calls the bolting or seeder window. The bolting or seeder window is a period where seed stems are generally going to impact the quality of the marketable celery and this is most consistently experienced in celery grown in the Southern California region. The presence of seed stems in celery can be considered a major marketable defect as set forth in the USDA grade standards. If the seed stem is longer than twice the diameter of the celery stalk or eight inches, the celery no longer meets the standards of US Grade #1. If the seed stem is longer than three times the diameter of the celery stalk, the celery is no longer marketable as US Grade #2 (United States Standards for Grades of Celery, United States Department of Agriculture, reprinted January 1997).

Celery is an allogamous biennial crop. The celery genome consists of 11 chromosomes. Its high degree of out-crossing is accomplished by insects and wind pollination. Pollinators of celery flowers include a large number of wasp, bee and fly species. Celery is subject to inbreeding depression, which appears to be dependent upon the genetic background as some lines are able to withstand selfing for three or four generations.

Celery flowers are protandrous, with pollen being released 3-6 days before stigma receptivity. At the time of stigma receptivity the stamens will have fallen and the two stigmata unfolded in an upright position. The degree of protandry varies, which makes it difficult to perform reliable hybridization, due to the possibility of accidental selfing.

Celery flowers are very small, which significantly hinders easy removal of individual anthers. Furthermore, different developmental stages of the flowers in umbels make it difficult to avoid uncontrolled pollinations. The standard hybridization technique in celery consists of selecting flower buds of the same size and eliminating the older and younger flowers. Then, the umbellets are covered with glycine paper bags for a 5-10 day period, during which the stigmas become receptive. At the time the flowers are receptive, available pollen or umbellets shedding pollen from selected male parents are rubbed on to the stigmas of the female parent.

Celery plants require a period of vernalization while in the vegetative phase in order to induce seed stalk development. A period of 6-10 weeks at 5° C. to 8° C. when the plants are greater than 4 weeks old is usually adequate. Due to a wide range of responses to the cold treatment, it is often difficult to synchronize crossing, since plants will flower at different times. However, pollen can be stored for 6-8 months at −10° C. in the presence of silica gel or calcium chloride with a viability decline of only 20-40%, thus providing flexibility to perform crosses over a longer time.

For selfing, the plant or selected umbels are caged in cloth bags. These are shaken several times during the day to promote pollen release. Houseflies (Musca domestica) can also be introduced weekly into the bags to perform pollinations.

Celery in general is an important and valuable vegetable crop. Thus, a continuing goal of celery plant breeders is to develop stable, high yielding celery cultivars that are agronomically sound to maximize the amount of yield produced on the land. To accomplish this goal, the celery breeder must select and develop celery plants that have the traits that result in superior cultivars.

The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described in conjunction with systems, tools, and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.

According to the invention, there is provided a novel celery cultivar designated TBG31. This invention thus relates to the seeds of celery cultivar TBG31, to the plants of celery cultivar TBG31 and to methods for producing a celery plant by crossing celery TBG31 with itself or another celery plant, to methods for producing a celery plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic celery plants produced by that method. This invention also relates to methods for producing other celery cultivars derived from celery cultivar TBG31 and to the celery cultivar derived by the use of those methods. This invention further relates to hybrid celery seeds and plants produced by crossing celery cultivar TBG31 with another celery line.

In another aspect, the present invention provides regenerable cells for use in tissue culture of celery cultivar TBG31. The tissue culture will preferably be capable of regenerating plants having essentially all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of the foregoing celery plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially the same genotype as the foregoing celery plant. Preferably, the regenerable cells in such tissue cultures will be callus, protoplasts, meristematic cells, leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles and suckers. Still further, the present invention provides celery plants regenerated from the tissue cultures of the invention.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide methods for producing other celery plants derived from celery cultivar TBG31. Celery cultivars derived by the use of those methods are also part of the invention.

The invention also relates to methods for producing a celery plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic celery plant produced by those methods.

In another aspect, the present invention provides for single gene converted plants of TBG31. The single transferred gene may preferably be a dominant or recessive allele. Preferably, the single transferred gene will confer such traits as male sterility, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydrate metabolism, resistance for bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, male fertility, enhanced nutritional quality and industrial usage or the transferred gene will have no apparent value except for the purpose of being a marker for variety identification. The single gene may be a naturally occurring celery gene or a transgene introduced through genetic engineering techniques.

The invention further provides methods for developing celery plant in a celery plant breeding program using plant breeding techniques including recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding, restriction fragment length polymorphism enhanced selection, genetic marker enhanced selection and transformation. Seeds, celery plants, and parts thereof, produced by such breeding methods are also part of the invention.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference by the study of the following descriptions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used. In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of the specification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms, the following definitions are provided:

Allele. An allele is any of one or more alternative form of a gene, all of which relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cell or organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding loci on a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a first generation hybrid F₁ with one of the parental genotype of the F₁ hybrid.

Bacterial blight. A bacterial disease of celery caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. Apii. The initial symptoms appear on the leaves as small, bright yellow, circular spots. As these enlarge with a yellow halo, they turn to a rust color. As the spots increase in number they merge to eventually kill the leaf tissue. Bacterial blight is favored by cool, wet conditions and at least 10 hours of leaf wetness is required for infection. The disease is spread by water splashes, farm machinery and field workers especially when the foliage is wet.

Black streak. A physiological disorder in celery plants causing some petioles, when cut, to show “black streaks” in the lower half or throughout the entire length of the petiole, making the entire crop unmarketable. Symptoms can be triggered under field conditions by high temperatures.

Blackheart. Blackheart is due to a lack of movement of sufficient calcium that causes the plant to turn brown and begin to decay at the growing point of the plant. Celery in certain conditions, such as warm weather, grows very rapidly and is incapable of moving sufficient amounts of calcium to the growing point.

Bolting. The premature development of a flowering or seed stalk, and subsequent seed, before a plant produces a food crop. Bolting is typically caused by late planting when temperatures are low enough to cause vernalization of the plants.

Bolting period. Also known as the bolting or seeder window, and generally occurs in celery that is transplanted from the middle of December through January and matures in April to May. The intensity and actual weeks that bolting may be observed vary from year to year, but it is generally observed in this window.

Bolting tolerance. The amount of vernalization that is required for different celery varieties to bolt is genetically controlled. Varieties with increased tolerance to bolting require greater periods of vernalization in order to initiate bolting. A comparison of bolting tolerance between varieties can be measured by the length of the flowering or seed stem under similar vernalization conditions.

Brown stem. A disease caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas cichorii that causes petiole necrosis. Brown Stem is characterized by a firm, brown discoloration throughout the petiole.

Celeriac or Root celery (Apium graveolens L. var. rapaceum). A plant that is related to celery but instead of having a thickened and succulent leaf petiole as in celery, celeriac has an enlarged hypocotyl and upper root that is the edible product.

Celery heart. The center most interior petioles and leaves of the celery stalk. They are not only the smallest petioles in the stalk, but the youngest as well. Some varieties are considered heartless because they go right from very large petioles to only a couple of very small petioles. The heart is comprised of the petioles that are closest to the meristem of the celery stalk. Most straw and process type varieties have very little heart development.

Colletotrichum. One of the most common and important genera of plant-pathogenic fungi. Causes post-harvest rots, and anthracnose spots and blights of aerial plant parts. In celery it is also accompanied by curling of the foliage.

Consumable. Means material that is edible by humans.

Crackstem. The petiole can crack or split horizontally or longitudinally. Numerous cracks in several locations along the petiole are often an indication that the variety has insufficient boron nutrition. A variety's ability to utilize boron is a physiological characteristic which is genetically controlled.

Essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics. A plant having essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics of the recurrent parent, except for the characteristics derived from the converted gene.

Feather leaf. Feather Leaf is a yellowing of the lower leaves and generally occurs in the outer petioles but can also be found on inner petioles of the stalk. These yellowing leaves which would normally remain in the harvested stalk are considered unacceptable. These petioles then have to be stripped off in order to meet USDA standards which effectively decreases the stalk size and yield.

Flare. The lower, generally wider portion of the petiole which is usually a paler green or white.

Fusarium yellows. A fungal soilborne disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. apii Race 2. Infected plants turn yellow and are stunted. Some of the large roots may have a dark brown and a water-soaked appearance. The water-conducting tissue (xylem) in the stem, crown, and root show a characteristic orange-brown discoloration. In the later stages of infection, plants remain severely stunted and yellowed and may collapse. The disease appears most severe during warm seasons, and in heavy, wet soils.

Gene. As used herein, “gene” refers to a segment of nucleic acid. A gene can be introduced into a genome of a species, whether from a different species or from the same species, using transformation or various breeding techniques.

Gross yield (Pounds/Acre). The total yield in pounds/acre of trimmed celery plants (stalks).

Leaf celery (Apium graveolens L. var. secalinum). A plant that has been developed primarily for leaf and seed production. Often grown in Mediterranean climates, leaf celery more closely resembles celery's wild ancestors. The stems are small and fragile and vary from solid to hollow and the leaves are fairly small and are generally bitter. This type is often used for its medicinal properties and spice.

Leaf margin chlorosis. A magnesium deficiency producing an interveinal chlorosis which starts at the margin of leaves.

Maturity date. Maturity in celery can be dictated by two conditions. The first, or true maturity, is the point in time when the celery reaches maximum size distribution, but before defects such as pith, yellowing, Feather Leaf or Brown Stem appear. The second, or market maturity is an artificial maturity dictated by market conditions, i.e, the market requirement may be for 3 dozen sizes so the field is harvested at slightly below maximum yield potential because the smaller sizes are what the customers prefer at that moment.

Muck. Muck is a soil made up primarily of humus drained from swampland. It is used for growing specialty crops, such as onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes.

MUN. MUN refers to the MUNSELL Color Chart which publishes an official color chart for plant tissues according to a defined numbering system. The chart may be purchased from the Macbeth Division of Kollmorgen Instruments Corporation, 617 Little Britain Road, New Windsor, N.Y. 12553-6148.

Petiole. A petiole is the stem or limb of a leaf, the primary portion of the celery consumed.

Petiole depth. The average measurement in millimeters of the depth of the celery petiole at its narrowest point. The petiole depth measurement is taken from the outside of the petiole (which is the part of the petiole that faces the outside of the stalk) and is measured to the inside of the petiole or cup or the inner most point of the petiole that faces the center of the stalk or heart.

Petiole width. The average measurement of the width of the celery petiole in millimeters at its widest point. The measurement is taken from the side or edge of petiole to the opposite side or edge of the petiole. The measurement is taken 90 degrees from petiole depth.

Phthalides. One of the chemical compounds that are responsible for the characteristic flavor and aroma of celery.

Pith. Pith is a sponginess/hollowness/white discoloration that occurs in the petioles of celery varieties naturally as they become over-mature. In some varieties it occurs at an earlier stage causing harvest to occur prior to ideal maturity. Pith generally occurs in the outer, older petioles first. If it occurs, these petioles are stripped off to make grade, which effectively decreases the stalk size and overall yield potential.

Plant height. The height of the plant from the bottom of the base or butt of the celery plant to the top of the tallest leaf.

Quantitative Trait Loci. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) refers to genetic loci that control to some degree, numerically representable traits that are usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration. Regeneration refers to the development of a plant from tissue culture.

Ribbing. The texture of the exterior surface of the celery petiole can vary from smooth to ribby depending on the variety. Ribbing is the presence of numerous ridges that run vertically along the petioles of the celery plant.

Seed stem. A seed stem is the result of the elongation of the main stem of the celery, which is usually very compressed to almost non-existent, to form the flowering axis. The seed stem or flowering axis can reach several feet in height during full flower. The length of the seed stem is measured as the distance from the top of the basal plate (the base of the seed stem) to its terminus (the terminal growing point).

Single gene converted. Single gene converted or conversion plant refers to plants which are developed by backcrossing, or via genetic engineering, wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a line are recovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the line via the backcrossing technique or via genetic engineering.

Stalk. A stalk is a single celery plant that is trimmed with the top or foliage and the roots removed.

Standard stem celery. A more traditional stem celery with moderate joint length, to be utilized and marketed as a whole stalk with 12 to 14 inch cut or for hearts in retail environment.

Stringiness. Stringiness is a physiological characteristic that is generally associated with strings that get stuck between the consumer's teeth. There are generally two sources of strings in celery. One is the vascular bundle which can be fairly elastic and behave as a string. The second is a strip of particularly strong epidermis cells called schlerenchyma which are located on the surface of the ridges of the celery varieties that have ribs.

Suckers. Suckers are auxiliary shoots that form at the base of the stalk or within the auxiliary buds between each petiole. If these shoots form between the petioles of the stalk, several petioles have to be stripped off causing the celery to become smaller and the functional yields to be decreased.

Tall stem celery. A stem celery with especially long petioles with primary purpose of being utilized for production of sticks or limbs.

TBG31 is a fairly tall celery cultivar well suited to Florida spring production because of a surprising combination of tolerance levels to several conditions that can impact celery in Florida. TBG31 has moderate tolerance to Cercospora, moderate tolerance to Colletotrichum, moderate to fairly susceptible to bacterial blight, good tolerance to boron deficiency and moderate tolerance to bolting. Due to its moderate tolerance to Cercospora, TBG31 is not suited to organic production but is well suited to conventional production where minimal control of the disease is required.

When grown for winter harvest TBG31 was fairly similar to TBG32, slightly shorter than ADS-23 and taller than ADS-8 and Floribelle for plant height (Tables 2, 3, 4, 5, 8). The lengths of the outer petioles were also fairly similar between TBG31, TBG32 and ADS-23 and longer than ADS-8 and Floribelle (Tables 2, 3, 4, 5).

In spring conditions there was little difference between TBG31, TBG32, ADS-8 and Floribelle (Tables 5, 6) for plant height, and the length of the outer petioles are fairly similar between TBG31, TBG32, ADS-8 and Floribelle (Tables 6, 7, 8).

In all trials (Tables 2-8), TBG31 was surprisingly amongst the highest yielding cultivars as measured by trim weight. Under the lower density production conditions of early winter, TBG31 was most similar to TBG32 and ADS-23 for the highest weight (Table 2) while under higher density conditions during the same period it was most similar to ADS-23 (Table 7). However, in the spring production period TBG31 was most similar to ADS-8, Floribelle and ADS-2 which also performed better (Tables 5, 6). Surprisingly, due to its improved tolerance to bolting (Table 9), TBG31 is a better spring variety since bolting can be a problem in spring production when Florida has a colder winter production season.

A fairly similar pattern was observed for whole plant weight (Tables 2-7). TBG31 and ADS-23 were most similar and had the best overall whole plant weight (Tables 2-7) under most growing conditions. However, during the spring harvest plantings (Tables 5, 6) there was very little difference between Floribelle, ADS-8 and ADS-23. TBG32 however tended to perform slightly poorer than TBG31 (Tables 3-7).

In seven trials, TBG31 was consistently amongst the lines producing the widest petioles (Tables 2-4, 6-7). ADS-23 and TBG32 were a little less consistent and were generally narrower.

TBG31 and TBG32 were very similar for tolerance to bolting, slightly less tolerant to bolting compared to ADS-23 and considerably more tolerant than ADS-8 as measured by length of the seed stem (Table 9). Thus, like ADS-23, TBG31 and TBG32 has an advantage for production in March and April in Florida when bolting can be a particular problem.

TBG31 also has moderate tolerance to Cercospora when compared to ADS-8 (susceptible) and TBG32 and Floribelle, which are both relatively tolerant (Table 10). TBG31 has slightly poorer than average tolerance to bacterial blight (Tables 11, 12) and is fairly tolerant to Colletotrichum (Table 13).

Tables 14, 15 and 16 show the results of smaller acreage productions of TBG31 compared to ADS-8 and ADS-23. When harvested in late December (Table 14) and January ADS-8 outperformed TBG31 for total yield as measured by cartons per acre. However, TBG31 surprisingly was consistently longer to the joint compared to ADS-8 which makes TBG31 a preferred variety for customers. Customers prefer celery that has longer petioles and less leaf in the final package because they feel that they are getting more usable product for their investment.

In contrast, TBG31 outperformed ADS-8 for total yield and length to the joint when harvest occurred in Belle Glade, Fla. in the spring season (Table 16). ADS-23 in the same production yielded 46 more cartons per acre, but TBG31 had a higher percentage of larger sizes.

TBG31 and TBG32 were improved for several additional quality characteristics compared to ADS-23, ADS-8, ADS-2 and Floribelle. For example TBG31 was consistently more tolerant for pith while TBG32 was slightly less tolerant for pith (Table 3) to equally tolerant (Table 8). In a similar fashion, TBG 31 was consistently more tolerant for development of feather leaf (Tables 2, 3, 4, 7) and TBG32 possessed similar tolerance (Tables 2, 4) to slightly less tolerance (Table 3, 7).

TBG31 and TBG32 were also consistently improved compared to most other varieties for tolerance to node crack (Tables 3 and 4) and brown stem (Table 8).

TBG31 was also improved for tolerance to boron deficiency compared to TBG32, ADS-23 and ADS-8 and was slightly less tolerant to Floribelle (Table 8).

Celery cultivar TBG31 has the following morphologic and other characteristics (based primarily on data collected in Belle Glade, Fla.):

TABLE 1 VARIETY DESCRIPTION INFORMATION Maturity: 97 days in Belle Glade, Florida Plant Height: 79.0 cm Number of Outer Petioles (>40 cm): 14.2 Number of Inner Petioles (<40 cm): 5.7 Stalk Shape: Cylindrical Stalk Conformation: Compact Heart Formation: Moderate to full Petiole Length (from butt to first joint): 34.4 cm Petiole Length Class: Long (>30 cm) Petiole Width (at midpoint): 22.2 mm Petiole Thickness (at midpoint): 10.3 mm Cross Section Shape: Cup Color (un-blanched at harvest): MUN 5GY 6/6 (Green) Anthocyanin: Absent Stringiness: Very slight Ribbing: Smooth Glossiness: Glossy Leaf Blade Color: MUN 5GY 4/4 (Dark green) Bolting tolerance: Moderate Adaxial Crackstem (Boron Deficiency): Tolerant Abaxial Crackstem (Boron Deficiency): Tolerant Leaf Margin Chlorosis (Magnesium Deficiency): Tolerant Blackheart (Calcium Deficiency): Tolerant Pithiness (Nutritional Deficiency): Tolerant Feather Leaf: Tolerant Sucker Development: Tolerant Brown Stem (Pseudomonas cichorii): Tolerant Bacterial Blight (Pseudomonas syringae pv. Apii): Moderately susceptible Early Blight (Cercospora apii): Moderately tolerant Colletotrichum acutatum: Tolerant

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a celery plant by crossing a first parent celery plant with a second parent celery plant, wherein the first parent celery plant or second parent celery plant is celery cultivar TBG31. Further, both the first parent celery plant and second parent celery plant may be from cultivar TBG31. Therefore, any breeding methods using celery cultivar TBG31 are part of this invention, such as selfing, backcrosses, hybrid breeding, and crosses to populations. Any plants produced using celery cultivar TBG31 as at least one parent are within the scope of this invention.

Additional methods include, but are not limited to, expression vectors introduced into plant tissues using a direct gene transfer method such as microprojectile-mediated delivery, DNA injection, electroporation and the like. More preferably, expression vectors are introduced into plant tissues by using either microprojectile-mediated delivery with a biolistic device or by using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transformant plants obtained with the protoplasm of the invention are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

Further Embodiments of the Invention

With the advent of molecular biological techniques that have allowed the isolation and characterization of genes that encode specific protein products, scientists in the field of plant biology developed a strong interest in engineering the genome of plants to contain and express foreign genes, or additional, or modified versions of native, or endogenous, genes (perhaps driven by different promoters) in order to alter the traits of a plant in a specific manner. Such foreign additional and/or modified genes are referred to herein collectively as “transgenes.” Over the last fifteen to twenty years several methods for producing transgenic plants have been developed, and the present invention, in particular embodiments, also relates to transformed versions of the claimed line.

Plant transformation involves the construction of an expression vector that will function in plant cells. Such a vector consists of DNA comprising a gene under control of or operatively linked to a regulatory element (for example, a promoter). The expression vector may contain one or more such operably linked gene/regulatory element combinations. The vector(s) may be in the form of a plasmid, and can be used alone or in combination with other plasmids, to provide transformed celery plants, using transformation methods as described below to incorporate transgenes into the genetic material of the celery plant(s).

Expression Vectors for Celery Transformation: Marker Genes

Expression vectors include at least one genetic marker, operably linked to a regulatory element (a promoter, for example) that allows transformed cells containing the marker to be either recovered by negative selection, i.e., inhibiting growth of cells that do not contain the selectable marker gene, or by positive selection, i.e., screening for the product encoded by the genetic marker. Many commonly used selectable marker genes for plant transformation are well known in the arts, and include, for example, genes that encode for enzymes that metabolically detoxify a selective chemical agent which may be an antibiotic or a herbicide, or genes that encode an altered target which is insensitive to the inhibitor.

One commonly used selectable marker gene for plant transformation is the neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene, isolated from transposon Tn5, which when placed under the control of plant regulatory signals confers resistance to kanamycin (Fraley et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 80:4803 (1983)). Another commonly used selectable marker gene is the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene which confers resistance to the antibiotic hygromycin (Vanden Elzen et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 5:299 (1985)).

Additional selectable marker genes of bacterial origin that confer resistance to antibiotics include gentamycin acetyl transferase, streptomycin phosphotransferase, and aminoglycoside-3′-adenyl transferase, the bleomycin resistance determinant (Hayford et al., Plant Physiol. 86:1216 (1988), Jones et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 210:86 (1987), Svab et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 14:197 (1990), Hille et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 7:171 (1986)). Other selectable marker genes confer resistance to herbicides such as glyphosate, glufosinate, or bromoxynil (Comai et al., Nature 317:741-744 (1985), Gordon-Kamm et al., Plant Cell 2:603-618 (1990) and Stalker et al., Science 242:419-423 (1988)).

Selectable marker genes for plant transformation that are not of bacterial origin include, for example, mouse dihydrofolate reductase, plant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase and plant acetolactate synthase (Eichholtz et al., Somatic Cell Mol. Genet. 13:67 (1987), Shah et al., Science 233:478 (1986), Charest et al., Plant Cell Rep. 8:643 (1990)).

Another class of marker genes for plant transformation require screening of presumptively transformed plant cells rather than direct genetic selection of transformed cells for resistance to a toxic substance such as an antibiotic. These genes are particularly useful to quantify or visualize the spatiotemporal expression of a gene and are frequently referred to as reporter genes because they are fused to a gene or gene regulatory sequence. Commonly used genes for screening presumptively transformed cells include α-glucuronidase (GUS), α-galactosidase, luciferase, chloramphenicol, and acetyltransferase (Jefferson, R. A., Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387 (1987), Teeri et al., EMBO J. 8:343 (1989), Koncz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U.S.A. 84:131 (1987), DeBlock et al., EMBO J. 3:1681 (1984)).

In vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity that do not require destruction of plant tissues are available (Molecular Probes publication 2908, IMAGENE GREEN, p. 1-4 (1993) and Naleway et al., J. Cell Biol. 115:151a (1991)). However, these in vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity have not proven useful for recovery of transformed cells because of low sensitivity, high fluorescent backgrounds and limitations associated with the use of luciferase genes as selectable markers.

More recently, a gene encoding Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has been utilized as a marker for gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (Chalfie et al., Science 263:802 (1994)). GFP and mutants of GFP may be used as screenable markers.

Expression Vectors for Celery Transformation: Promoters

Genes included in expression vectors must be driven by a nucleotide sequence comprising a regulatory element, such as a promoter. Several types of promoters are now well known in the arts, as are other regulatory elements that can be used alone or in combination with promoters.

As used herein, “promoter” includes reference to a region of DNA upstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition and binding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription. A “plant promoter” is a promoter capable of initiating transcription in plant cells. Examples of promoters under developmental control include those which preferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues, such as leaves, roots, seeds, fibers, xylem vessels, tracheids, or sclerenchyma. These promoters are referred to as “tissue-preferred”. Promoters which initiate transcription only in certain tissue are referred to as “tissue-specific”. A “cell type” specific promoter primarily drives expression in certain cell types in one or more organs, for example, vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” promoter is a promoter which is under environmental control. Examples of environmental conditions that may effect transcription by inducible promoters include anaerobic conditions or the presence of light. Tissue-specific, tissue-preferred, cell type specific, and inducible promoters constitute the class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A “constitutive” promoter is a promoter which is active under most environmental conditions.

A. Inducible Promoters

An inducible promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in celery. Optionally, the inducible promoter is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a gene for expression in celery. With an inducible promoter the rate of transcription increases in response to an inducing agent.

Any inducible promoter can be used in the instant invention. See Ward et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 22:361-366 (1993). Exemplary inducible promoters include, but are not limited to, that from the ACEI system which responds to copper (Meft et al., PNAS 90:4567-4571 (1993)); In2 gene from maize which responds to benzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners (Hershey et al., Mol. Gen Genetics 227:229-237 (1991) and Gatz et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 243:32-38 (1994)) or Tet repressor from Tn10 (Gatz et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 227:229-237 (1991). A particularly preferred inducible promoter is a promoter that responds to an inducing agent to which plants do not normally respond. An exemplary inducible promoter is the inducible promoter from a steroid hormone gene, the transcriptional activity of which is induced by a glucocorticosteroid hormone. Schena et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:0421 (1991).

B. Constitutive Promoters

A constitutive promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in celery or the constitutive promoter is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a gene for expression in celery.

Many different constitutive promoters can be utilized in the instant invention. Exemplary constitutive promoters include, but are not limited to, the promoters from plant viruses such as the 35S promoter from CaMV (Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812 (1985) and the promoters from such genes as rice actin (McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171 (1990)); ubiquitin (Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 12:619-632 (1989) and Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18:675-689 (1992)); pEMU (Last et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588 (1991)); MAS (Velten et al., EMBO J. 3:2723-2730 (1984)) and maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 231:276-285 (1992) and Atanassova et al., Plant Journal 2 (3): 291-300 (1992)). The ALS promoter, Xba1/Nco1 fragment 5′ to the Brassica napus ALS3 structural gene (or a nucleotide sequence similarity to said Xba1/Nco1 fragment), represents a particularly useful constitutive promoter. See PCT application WO 96/30530.

C. Tissue-Specific or Tissue-Preferred Promoters

A tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in celery. Optionally, the tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a gene for expression in celery. Plants transformed with a gene of interest operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter produce the protein product of the transgene exclusively, or preferentially, in a specific tissue.

Any tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoter can be utilized in the instant invention. Exemplary tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoters include, but are not limited to, a root-preferred promoter, such as that from the phaseolin gene (Murai et al., Science 23:476-482 (1983) and Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:3320-3324 (1985)); a leaf-specific and light-induced promoter such as that from cab or rubisco (Simpson et al., EMBO J. 4(11):2723-2729 (1985) and Timko et al., Nature 318:579-582 (1985)); an anther-specific promoter such as that from LAT52 (Twell et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 217:240-245 (1989)); a pollen-specific promoter such as that from Zml3 (Guerrero et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 244:161-168 (1993)) or a microspore-preferred promoter such as that from apg (Twell et al., Sex. Plant Reprod. 6:217-224 (1993)).

Signal Sequences for Targeting Proteins to Subcellular Compartments

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartment such as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall or mitochondrion or for secretion into the apoplast, is accomplished by means of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein of interest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structural gene may determine, during protein synthesis and processing, where the encoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized.

The presence of a signal sequence directs a polypeptide to either an intracellular organelle or subcellular compartment or for secretion to the apoplast. Many signal sequences are known in the art; for example, Becker et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:49 (1992), Close, P. S., Master's Thesis, Iowa State University (1993), Knox, C., et al., A Structure and Organization of Two Divergent Alpha-Amylase Genes from Barley”, Plant Mol. Biol. 9:3-17 (1987), Lerner et al., Plant Physiol. 91:124-129 (1989), Fontes et al., Plant Cell 3:483-496 (1991), Matsuoka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:834 (1991), Gould et al., J. Cell. Biol. 108:1657 (1989), Creissen et al., Plant J. 2:129 (1991), Kalderon, et al., A short amino acid sequence able to specify nuclear location, Cell 39:499-509 (1984), Steifel, et al., Expression of a maize cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein gene in early leaf and root vascular differentiation, Plant Cell 2:785-793 (1990).

Foreign Protein Genes and Agronomic Genes

With transgenic plants according to the present invention, a foreign protein can be produced in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques for the selection and propagation of transformed plants, which are well understood in the art, yield a plurality of transgenic plants which are harvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign protein can then be extracted from a tissue of interest or from total biomass. Protein extraction from plant biomass can be accomplished by known methods which are discussed, for example, by Heney and Orr, Anal. Biochem. 114:92-6 (1981).

According to a preferred embodiment, the transgenic plant provided for commercial production of foreign protein is celery. In another preferred embodiment, the biomass of interest is seed. For the relatively small number of transgenic plants that show higher levels of expression, a genetic map can be generated, primarily via conventional RFLP, PCR and SSR analysis, which identifies the approximate chromosomal location of the integrated DNA molecule. For exemplary methodologies in this regard, see Glick and Thompson, Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, CRC Press, Boca Raton 269:284 (1993). Map information concerning chromosomal location is useful for proprietary protection of a subject transgenic plant. If unauthorized propagation is undertaken and crosses made with other germplasm, the map of the integration region can be compared to similar maps for suspect plants, to determine if the latter have a common parentage with the subject plant. Map comparisons would involve hybridizations, RFLP, PCR, SSR and sequencing, all of which are conventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present invention, agronomic genes can be expressed in transformed plants. More particularly, plants can be genetically engineered to express various phenotypes of agronomic interest. Exemplary genes implicated in this regard include, but are not limited to, those categorized below:

1. Genes that Confer Resistance to Pests or Disease and that Encode:

A. Plant disease resistance genes. Plant defenses are often activated by specific interaction between the product of a disease resistance gene (R) in the plant and the product of a corresponding avirulence (Avr) gene in the pathogen. A plant line can be transformed with a cloned resistance gene to engineer plants that are resistant to specific pathogen strains. See, for example Jones et al., Science 266:789 (1994) (cloning of the tomato Cf-9 gene for resistance to Cladosporium fulvum); Martin et al., Science 262:1432 (1993) (tomato Pto gene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato encodes a protein kinase); Mindrinos et al., Cell 78:1089 (1994) (Arabidopsis RSP2 gene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae).

B. A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof or a synthetic polypeptide modeled thereon. See, for example, Geiser et al., Gene 48:109 (1986), who disclose the cloning and nucleotide sequence of a Bt δ-endotoxin gene. Moreover, DNA molecules encoding δ-endotoxin genes can be purchased from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va., under ATCC Accession Nos. 40098, 67136, 31995 and 31998.

C. A lectin. See, for example, the disclosure by Van Damme et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:25 (1994), who disclose the nucleotide sequences of several Clivia miniata mannose-binding lectin genes.

D. A vitamin-binding protein such as avidin. See PCT application US 93/06487, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The application teaches the use of avidin and avidin homologues as larvicides against insect pests.

E. An enzyme inhibitor, for example, a protease or proteinase inhibitor or an amylase inhibitor. See, for example, Abe et al., J. Biol. Chem. 262:16793 (1987) (nucleotide sequence of rice cysteine proteinase inhibitor), Huub et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:985 (1993) (nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding tobacco proteinase inhibitor I), Sumitani et al., Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 57:1243 (1993) (nucleotide sequence of Streptomyces nitrosporeus α-amylase inhibitor).

F. An insect-specific hormone or pheromone such as an ecdysteroid and juvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or an antagonist or agonist thereof. See, for example, the disclosure by Hammock et al., Nature 344:458 (1990), of baculovirus expression of cloned juvenile hormone esterase, an inactivator of juvenile hormone.

G. An insect-specific peptide or neuropeptide which, upon expression, disrupts the physiology of the affected pest. For example, see the disclosures of Regan, J. Biol. Chem. 269:9 (1994) (expression cloning yields DNA coding for insect diuretic hormone receptor), and Pratt et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1243 (1989) (an allostatin is identified in Diploptera puntata). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,317 to Tomalski et al., who disclose genes encoding insect-specific, paralytic neurotoxins.

H. An insect-specific venom produced in nature by a snake, a wasp, etc. For example, see Pang et al., Gene 116:165 (1992), for disclosure of heterologous expression in plants of a gene coding for a scorpion insectotoxic peptide.

I. An enzyme responsible for a hyperaccumulation of a monoterpene, a sesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivative or another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

J. An enzyme involved in the modification, including the post-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; for example, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme, a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, a phosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, a chitinase and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCT application WO 93/02197 in the name of Scott et al., which discloses the nucleotide sequence of a callase gene. DNA molecules which contain chitinase-encoding sequences can be obtained from ATCC Accession Nos. 39637 and 67152. See also Kramer et al., Insect Biochem. Molec. Biol. 23:691 (1993), who teach the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding tobacco hornworm chitinase, and Kawalleck et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:673 (1993), who provide the nucleotide sequence of the parsley ubi4-2 polyubiquitin gene.

K. A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example, see the disclosure by Botella et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:757 (1994), of nucleotide sequences for mung bean calmodulin cDNA clones, and Griess et al., Plant Physiol. 104:1467 (1994), who provide the nucleotide sequence of a maize calmodulin cDNA clone.

L. A hydrophobic moment peptide. See PCT application WO 95/16776 (disclosure of peptide derivatives of tachyplesin which inhibit fungal plant pathogens) and PCT application WO 95/18855 (teaches synthetic antimicrobial peptides that confer disease resistance), the respective contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

M. A membrane permease, a channel former or a channel blocker. For example, see the disclosure of Jaynes et al., Plant Sci 89:43 (1993), of heterologous expression of a cecropin-β, lytic peptide analog to render transgenic tobacco plants resistant to Pseudomonas solanacearum.

N. A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. For example, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plant cells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease development effected by the virus from which the coat protein gene is derived, as well as by related viruses. See Beachy et al., Ann. rev. Phytopathol. 28:451 (1990). Coat protein-mediated resistance has been conferred upon transformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus, tobacco streak virus, potato virus X, potato virus Y, tobacco etch virus, tobacco rattle virus and tobacco mosaic virus.

O. An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived there from. Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in the insect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect (Taylor et al., Abstract #497, Seventh Int'l Symposium on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (Edinburgh, Scotland) (1994) (enzymatic inactivation in transgenic tobacco via production of single-chain antibody fragments)).

P. A virus-specific antibody. For example, Tavladoraki et al., Nature 366:469 (1993), shows that transgenic plants expressing recombinant antibody genes are protected from virus attack.

Q. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogen or a parasite. Thus, fungal endo-α-1,4-D-polygalacturonases facilitate fungal colonization and plant nutrient release by solubilizing plant cell wall homo-α-1,4-D-galacturonase. See Lamb et al., Bio/Technology 10:1436 (1992). The cloning and characterization of a gene which encodes a bean endopolygalacturonase-inhibiting protein is described by Toubart et al., Plant J. 2:367 (1992).

R. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant. For example, Logemann et al., Bio/Technology 10:305 (1992), have shown that transgenic plants expressing the barley ribosome-inactivating gene have an increased resistance to fungal disease.

S. A lettuce mosaic potyvirus (LMV) coat protein gene introduced into Lactuca sativa in order to increase its resistance to LMV infection. See Dinant et al., Molecular Breeding. 1997, 3: 1, 75-86.

2. Genes that Confer Resistance to an Herbicide:

A. An herbicide that inhibits the growing point or meristem, such as an imidazolinone or a sulfonylurea. Exemplary genes in this category code for mutant ALS and AHAS enzyme as described, for example, by Lee et al., EMBO J. 7:1241 (1988), and Miki et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 80:449 (1990), respectively.

B. Glyphosate (resistance conferred by mutant 5-enolpyruvlshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) and aroA genes, respectively) and other phosphono compounds such as glufosinate (phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT) and Streptomyces hygroscopicus PAT bar genes), and pyridinoxy or phenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones (ACCase inhibitor-encoding genes). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,835 to Shah, et al., which discloses the nucleotide sequence of a form of EPSPS which can confer glyphosate resistance. A DNA molecule encoding a mutant aroA gene can be obtained under ATCC accession number 39256, and the nucleotide sequence of the mutant gene is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,061 to Comai. See also Umaballava-Mobapathie in Transgenic Research. 1999, 8: 1, 33-44 that discloses Lactuca sativa resistant to glufosinate. European Patent Application No. 0 333 033 to Kumada et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,374 to Goodman et al., disclose nucleotide sequences of glutamine synthetase genes which confer resistance to herbicides such as L-phosphinothricin. The nucleotide sequence of a phosphinothricin-acetyl-transferase gene is provided in European Patent Application No. 0 242 246 to Leemans et al. DeGreef et al., Bio/Technology 7:61 (1989), describe the production of transgenic plants that express chimeric bar genes coding for phosphinothricin acetyl transferase activity. Examples of genes conferring resistance to phenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones, such as sethoxydim and haloxyfop are the Acc1-S1, Acc1-S2 and Acc1-S3 genes described by Marshall et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 83:435 (1992).

C. An herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, such as a triazine (psbA and gs+ genes) and a benzonitrile (nitrilase gene). Przibilla et al., Plant Cell 3:169 (1991), describe the transformation of Chlamydomonas with plasmids encoding mutant psbA genes. Nucleotide sequences for nitrilase genes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,648 to Stalker, and DNA molecules containing these genes are available under ATCC Accession Nos. 53435, 67441, and 67442. Cloning and expression of DNA coding for a glutathione S-transferase is described by Hayes et al., Biochem. J. 285:173 (1992).

D. Acetohydroxy acid synthase, which has been found to make plants that express this enzyme resistant to multiple types of herbicides, has been introduced into a variety of plants. See Hattori et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 246:419, 1995. Other genes that confer tolerance to herbicides include a gene encoding a chimeric protein of rat cytochrome P4507A1 and yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (Shiota et al., Plant Physiol., 106:17, 1994), genes for glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase (Aono et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 36:1687, 1995), and genes for various phosphotransferases (Datta et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:619, 1992).

E. Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (protox) is necessary for the production of chlorophyll, which is necessary for all plant survival. The protox enzyme serves as the target for a variety of herbicidal compounds. These herbicides also inhibit growth of all the different species of plants present, causing their total destruction. The development of plants containing altered protox activity which are resistant to these herbicides are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,306; 6,282,837; 5,767,373; and international publication WO 01/12825.

F. Modified bolting tolerance in plants for example, by transferring a gene encoding for gibberellin 2-oxidase (U.S. Pat. No. 7,262,340). Bolting has also been modified using non-transformation methods; see Wittwer, S. H., et al. (1957) Science. 126(3262): 30-31; Booij, R. et al., (1995) Scientia Horticulturae. 63:143-154; and Booij, R. et al., (1994) Scientia Horticulturae. 58:271-282.

3. Genes that Confer or Contribute to a Value-Added Trait, Such as:

A. Increased iron content of the celery, for example by transforming a plant with a soybean ferritin gene as described in Goto et al., Acta Horticulturae. 2000, 521, 101-109.

B. Decreased nitrate content of leaves, for example by transforming a celery with a gene coding for a nitrate reductase. See for example Curtis et al., Plant Cell Report. 1999, 18: 11, 889-896.

C. Increased sweetness of the celery by transferring a gene coding for monellin, which elicits a flavor 100,000 times sweeter than sugar on a molar basis. See Penarrubia et al., Biotechnology. 1992, 10: 561-564.

D. Modified fatty acid metabolism, for example, by transforming a plant with an antisense gene of stearyl-ACP desaturase to increase stearic acid content of the plant. See Knultzon et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:2625 (1992).

E. Modified carbohydrate composition effected, for example, by transforming plants with a gene coding for an enzyme that alters the branching pattern of starch. See Shiroza et al., J. Bacteriol. 170:810 (1988) (nucleotide sequence of Streptococcus mutants fructosyltransferase gene), Steinmetz et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 20:220 (1985) (nucleotide sequence of Bacillus subtilis levansucrase gene), Pen et al., Bio/Technology 10:292 (1992) (production of transgenic plants that express Bacillus lichenifonnis α-amylase), Elliot et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:515 (1993) (nucleotide sequences of tomato invertase genes), Søgaard et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:22480 (1993) (site-directed mutagenesis of barley α-amylase gene), and Fisher et al., Plant Physiol. 102:1045 (1993) (maize endosperm starch branching enzyme II).

4. Genes that Control Male-Sterility

A. Introduction of a deacetylase gene under the control of a tapetum-specific promoter and with the application of the chemical N—Ac-PPT; see international publication WO 01/29237.

B. Introduction of various stamen-specific promoters; see international publications WO 92/13956 and WO 92/13957.

C. Introduction of the barnase and the barstar genes; see Paul et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 19:611-622, 1992).

Methods for Celery Transformation

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed, including biological and physical, plant transformation protocols. See, for example, Miki et al., “Procedures for Introducing Foreign DNA into Plants” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Glick B. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993) pages 67-88. In addition, expression vectors and in vitro culture methods for plant cell or tissue transformation and regeneration of plants are available. See, for example, Gruber et al., “Vectors for Plant Transformation” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Glick B. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993) pages 89-119.

A. Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation

One method for introducing an expression vector into plants is based on the natural transformation system of Agrobacterium. See, for example, Horsch et al., Science 227:1229 (1985), Curtis et al., Journal of Experimental Botany. 1994, 45: 279, 1441-1449, Torres et al., Plant cell Tissue and Organic Culture. 1993, 34: 3, 279-285, Dinant et al., Molecular Breeding. 1997, 3: 1, 75-86. A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes are plant pathogenic soil bacteria which genetically transform plant cells. The Ti and Ri plasmids of A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes, respectively, carry genes responsible for genetic transformation of the plant. See, for example, Kado, C. I., Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 10:1 (1991). Descriptions of Agrobacterium vector systems and methods for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer are provided by Gruber et al., supra, Miki et al., supra, and Moloney et al., Plant Cell Reports 8:238 (1989). See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,616 issued Jan. 7, 1997.

B. Direct Gene Transfer

Several methods of plant transformation collectively referred to as direct gene transfer, have been developed as an alternative to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. A generally applicable method of plant transformation is microprojectile-mediated transformation wherein DNA is carried on the surface of microprojectiles measuring 1 to 4 μm. The expression vector is introduced into plant tissues with a biolistic device that accelerates the microprojectiles to speeds of 300 to 600 m/s which is sufficient to penetrate plant cell walls and membranes. Russell, D. R., et al. Pl. Cell. Rep. 12(3, January), 165-169 (1993), Aragao, F. J. L., et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 20(2, October), 357-359 (1992), Aragao, F. J. L., et al. Pl. Cell. Rep. 12(9, July), 483-490 (1993). Aragao, Theor. Appl. Genet. 93: 142-150 (1996), Kim, J.; Minamikawa, T. Plant Science 117: 131-138 (1996), Sanford et al., Part. Sci. Technol. 5:27 (1987), Sanford, J. C., Trends Biotech. 6:299 (1988), Klein et al., Bio/Technology 6:559-563 (1988), Sanford, J. C., Physiol Plant 7:206 (1990), Klein et al., Biotechnology 10:268 (1992).

Another method for physical delivery of DNA to plants is sonication of target cells. Zhang et al., Bio/Technology 9:996 (1991). Alternatively, liposome and spheroplast fusion have been used to introduce expression vectors into plants. Deshayes et al., EMBO J., 4:2731 (1985), Christou et al., Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:3962 (1987). Direct uptake of DNA into protoplasts using CaCl₂ precipitation, polyvinyl alcohol or poly-L-ornithine have also been reported. Hain et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 199:161 (1985) and Draper et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 23:451 (1982). Electroporation of protoplasts and whole cells and tissues have also been described. Saker, M.; Kuhne, T. Biologia Plantarum 40(4): 507-514 (1997/98), Donn et al., In Abstracts of VIIth International Congress on Plant Cell and Tissue Culture IAPTC, A2-38, p 53 (1990); D'Halluin et al., Plant Cell 4:1495-1505 (1992) and Spencer et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 24:51-61 (1994). See also Chupean et al., Biotechnology. 1989, 7: 5, 503-508.

Following transformation of celery target tissues, expression of the above-described selectable marker genes allows for preferential selection of transformed cells, tissues and/or plants, using regeneration and selection methods now well known in the art.

The foregoing methods for transformation would typically be used for producing a transgenic line. The transgenic line could then be crossed, with another (non-transformed or transformed) line, in order to produce a new transgenic celery line. Alternatively, a genetic trait which has been engineered into a particular celery cultivar using the foregoing transformation techniques could be moved into another line using traditional backcrossing techniques that are well known in the plant breeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach could be used to move an engineered trait from a public, non-elite inbred line into an elite inbred line, or from an inbred line containing a foreign gene in its genome into an inbred line or lines which do not contain that gene. As used herein, “crossing” can refer to a simple X by Y cross, or the process of backcrossing, depending on the context.

Single-Gene Conversions

When the term celery plant, cultivar or celery line is used in the context of the present invention, this also includes any single gene conversions of that line. The term “single gene converted plant” as used herein refers to those celery plants which are developed by a plant breeding technique called backcrossing wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a cultivar are recovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the line via the backcrossing technique. Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improve or introduce a characteristic into the line. The term “backcrossing” as used herein refers to the repeated crossing of a hybrid progeny back to one of the parental celery plants for that line, backcrossing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or more times to the recurrent parent. The parental celery plant which contributes the gene for the desired characteristic is termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur. The parental celery plant to which the gene or genes from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol (Poehlman & Sleper, 1994; Fehr, 1987). In a typical backcross protocol, the original cultivar of interest (recurrent parent) is crossed to a second line (nonrecurrent parent) that carries the single gene of interest to be transferred. The resulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to the recurrent parent and the process is repeated until a celery plant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the converted plant, in addition to the single transferred gene from the nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for a successful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol is to alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the original line. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent cultivar is modified or substituted with the desired gene from the nonrecurrent parent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desired genetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological, constitution of the original line. The choice of the particular nonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one of the major purposes is to add some commercially desirable, agronomically important trait to the plant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristic or trait being altered to determine an appropriate testing protocol. Although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, a recessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desired characteristic has been successfully transferred.

Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularly selected for in the development of a new line but that can be improved by backcrossing techniques. Single gene traits may or may not be transgenic, examples of these traits include but are not limited to, male sterility, modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydrate metabolism, herbicide resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, insect resistance, enhanced nutritional quality, industrial usage, yield stability and yield enhancement. These genes are generally inherited through the nucleus. Several of these single gene traits are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,777,196, 5,948,957 and 5,969,212, the disclosures of which are specifically hereby incorporated by reference.

Tissue Culture

Further reproduction of the variety can occur by tissue culture and regeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of celery and regeneration of plants there from is well known and widely published. For example, reference may be had to Teng et al., HortScience. 1992, 27: 9, 1030-1032 Teng et al., HortScience. 1993, 28: 6, 669-1671, Zhang et al., Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 1992, 46: 3, 287-290, Webb et al., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture. 1994, 38: 1, 77-79, Curtis et al., Journal of Experimental Botany. 1994, 45: 279, 1441-1449, Nagata et al., Journal for the American Society for Horticultural Science. 2000, 125: 6, 669-672, and Ibrahim et al., Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture. (1992), 28(2): 139-145. It is clear from the literature that the state of the art is such that these methods of obtaining plants are routinely used and have a very high rate of success. Thus, another aspect of this invention is to provide cells which upon growth and differentiation produce celery plants having the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety TBG31.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a composition comprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplary types of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, meristematic cells, and plant cells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plants or parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles, suckers and the like. Means for preparing and maintaining plant tissue culture are well known in the art. By way of example, a tissue culture comprising organs has been used to produce regenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185, 5,973,234 and 5,977,445 describe certain techniques, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Additional Breeding Methods

This invention also is directed to methods for producing a celery plant by crossing a first parent celery plant with a second parent celery plant wherein the first or second parent celery plant is a celery plant of cultivar TBG31. Further, both first and second parent celery plants can come from celery cultivar TBG31. Thus, any breeding methods using celery cultivar TBG31 are part of this invention, such as selfing, backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses to populations, and the like. All plants produced using celery cultivar TBG31 as at least one parent are within the scope of this invention, including those developed from cultivars derived from celery cultivar TBG31. Advantageously, this celery cultivar could be used in crosses with other, different, celery plants to produce the first generation (F₁) celery hybrid seeds and plants with superior characteristics. The cultivar of the invention can also be used for transformation where exogenous genes are introduced and expressed by the cultivar of the invention. Genetic variants created either through traditional breeding methods using celery cultivar TBG31 or through transformation of cultivar TBG31 by any of a number of protocols known to those of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

The following describes breeding methods that may be used with celery cultivar TBG31 in the development of further celery plants. One such embodiment is a method for developing cultivar TBG31 progeny celery plants in a celery plant breeding program comprising: obtaining the celery plant, or a part thereof, of cultivar TBG31 utilizing said plant or plant part as a source of breeding material, and selecting a celery cultivar TBG31 progeny plant with molecular markers in common with cultivar TBG31 and/or with morphological and/or physiological characteristics selected from the characteristics listed in Table 1. Breeding steps that may be used in the celery plant breeding program include pedigree breeding, backcrossing, mutation breeding, and recurrent selection. In conjunction with these steps, techniques such as RFLP-enhanced selection, genetic marker enhanced selection (for example SSR markers) and the making of double haploids may be utilized.

Another method involves producing a population of celery cultivar TBG31 progeny celery plants, comprising crossing cultivar TBG31 with another celery plant, thereby producing a population of celery plants, which, on average, derive 50% of their alleles from celery cultivar TBG31. A plant of this population may be selected and repeatedly selfed or sibbed with a celery cultivar resulting from these successive filial generations. One embodiment of this invention is the celery cultivar produced by this method and that has obtained at least 50% of its alleles from celery cultivar TBG31.

One of ordinary skill in the art of plant breeding would know how to evaluate the traits of two plant varieties to determine if there is no significant difference between the two traits expressed by those varieties. For example, see Fehr and Walt, Principles of Cultivar Development, p 261-286 (1987). Thus the invention includes celery cultivar TBG31 progeny celery plants comprising a combination of at least two cultivar TBG31 traits selected from the group consisting of those listed in Table 1 or the cultivar TBG31 combination of traits listed in the Summary of the Invention, so that said progeny celery plant is not significantly different for said traits than celery cultivar TBG31 as determined at the 5% significance level when grown in the same environmental conditions. Using techniques described herein, molecular markers may be used to identify said progeny plant as a celery cultivar TBG31 progeny plant. Mean trait values may be used to determine whether trait differences are significant, and preferably the traits are measured on plants grown under the same environmental conditions. Once such a variety is developed its value is substantial since it is important to advance the germplasm base as a whole in order to maintain or improve traits such as yield, disease resistance, pest resistance, and plant performance in extreme environmental conditions.

Progeny of celery cultivar TBG31 may also be characterized through their filial relationship with celery cultivar TBG31, as for example, being within a certain number of breeding crosses of celery cultivar TBG31. A breeding cross is a cross made to introduce new genetics into the progeny, and is distinguished from a cross, such as a self or a sib cross, made to select among existing genetic alleles. The lower the number of breeding crosses in the pedigree, the closer the relationship between celery cultivar TBG31 and its progeny. For example, progeny produced by the methods described herein may be within 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 breeding crosses of celery cultivar TBG31.

Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plant reproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and the type of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F₁ hybrid cultivar, pureline cultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superior individual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective, whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based on mean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of related plants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection, modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection.

The complexity of inheritance influences the choice of breeding method. Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes for a highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach has been used extensively for breeding disease-resistant cultivars. Various recurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitatively inherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrent selection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination, the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and the number of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.

Each breeding program should include a periodic, objective evaluation of the efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria vary depending on the goal and objectives, but should include gain from selection per year based on comparisons to an appropriate standard, the overall value of the advanced breeding lines, and the number of successful cultivars produced per unit of input (e.g., per year, per dollar expended, etc.).

Promising advanced breeding lines are thoroughly tested and compared to appropriate standards in environments representative of the commercial target area(s) for at least three years. The best lines are candidates for new commercial cultivars; those still deficient in a few traits are used as parents to produce new generations for further selection.

These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing and distribution, usually take from ten to twenty years from the time the first cross or selection is made. Therefore, development of new cultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.

A most difficult task is the identification of individuals that are genetically superior, because for most traits the true genotypic value is masked by other confounding plant traits or environmental factors. One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative to other experimental plants and to a widely grown standard cultivar. If a single observation is inconclusive, replicated observations provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.

The goal of celery plant breeding is to develop new, unique and superior celery cultivars. The breeder initially selects and crosses two or more parental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection, producing many new genetic combinations. The breeder can theoretically generate billions of different genetic combinations via crossing, selfing and mutations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellular level. Therefore, two breeders will never develop the same line, or even very similar lines, having the same celery traits.

Each year, the plant breeder selects the germplasm to advance to the next generation. This germplasm is grown under unique and different geographical, climatic and soil conditions and further selections are then made, during and at the end of the growing season. The cultivars that are developed are unpredictable. This unpredictability is because the breeder's selection occurs in unique environments, with no control at the DNA level (using conventional breeding procedures), and with millions of different possible genetic combinations being generated. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the final resulting lines he/she develops, except possibly in a very gross and general fashion. The same breeder cannot produce the same line twice by using the exact same original parents and the same selection techniques. This unpredictability results in the expenditure of large research monies to develop superior celery cultivars.

The development of commercial celery cultivars often starts with crosses between different commercial varieties and/or germplasm at different stages in development. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used to develop cultivars from breeding populations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or more varieties or various broad-based sources into breeding pools from which cultivars are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new cultivars are crossed with other varieties and the hybrids from these crosses are evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.

Pedigree breeding is used commonly for the improvement of self-pollinating crops or inbred lines of cross-pollinating crops. Two parents which possess favorable, complementary traits are crossed to produce an F₁. An F₂ population is produced by selfing one or several F₁'s or by intercrossing two F₁'s (sib mating). Selection of the best individuals usually begins in the F₂ population; then, beginning in the F₃, the best individuals in the best families are selected. Replicated testing of families, or hybrid combinations involving individuals of these families, often follows in the F₄ generation to improve the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F₆ and F₇), the best lines or mixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potential release as new cultivars.

Mass and recurrent selections can be used to improve populations of either self- or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variable population of heterozygous individuals is either identified or created by intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selected based on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellent combining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a new population in which further cycles of selection are continued.

Backcross breeding has been used to transfer genes for a simply inherited, highly heritable trait into a desirable homozygous cultivar or line that is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait to be transferred is called the donor parent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After the initial cross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parent are selected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrent parent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent.

In the strictest sense, the single-seed descent procedure refers to planting a segregating population, harvesting a sample of one seed per plant, and using the one-seed sample to plant the next generation. When the population has been advanced from the F₂ to the desired level of inbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace to different F₂ individuals. The number of plants in a population declines each generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plants to produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F₂ plants originally sampled in the population will be represented by a progeny when generation advance is completed.

In addition to phenotypic observations, the genotype of a plant can also be examined. There are many laboratory-based techniques available for the analysis, comparison and characterization of a plants genotype. Among these are Isozyme Electrophoresis, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), Arbitrarily Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs), Amplified Fragment Length polymorphisms (AFLPs), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs—which are also referred to as Microsatellites), and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).

Isozyme Electrophoresis and RFLPs have been widely used to determine genetic composition. Shoemaker and Olsen, (Molecular Linkage Map of Soybean (Glycine max) p. 6.131-6.138 in S. J. O'Brien (ed) Genetic Maps: Locus Maps of Complex Genomes, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., (1993)) developed a molecular genetic linkage map that consisted of 25 linkage groups with about 365 RFLP, 11 RAPD, three classical markers and four isozyme loci. See also, Shoemaker, R. C., RFLP Map of Soybean, p 299-309, in Phillips, R. L. and Vasil, I. K., eds. DNA-Based Markers in Plants, Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht, the Netherlands (1994).

SSR technology is currently the most efficient and practical marker technology; more marker loci can be routinely used and more alleles per marker locus can be found using SSRs in comparison to RFLPs. For example, Diwan and Cregan described a highly polymorphic microsatellite locus in soybean with as many as 26 alleles. (Diwan, N. and Cregan, P. B., Theor. Appl. Genet. 95:22-225, 1997.) SNPs may also be used to identify the unique genetic composition of the invention and progeny varieties retaining that unique genetic composition. Various molecular marker techniques may be used in combination to enhance overall resolution.

Molecular markers, which include markers identified through the use of techniques such as Isozyme Electrophoresis, RFLPs, RAPDs, AP-PCR, DAF, SCARs, AFLPs, SSRs, and SNPs, may be used in plant breeding. One use of molecular markers is Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping. QTL mapping is the use of markers which are known to be closely linked to alleles that have measurable effects on a quantitative trait. Selection in the breeding process is based upon the accumulation of markers linked to the positive effecting alleles and/or the elimination of the markers linked to the negative effecting alleles from the plant's genome.

Molecular markers can also be used during the breeding process for the selection of qualitative traits. For example, markers closely linked to alleles or markers containing sequences within the actual alleles of interest can be used to select plants that contain the alleles of interest during a backcrossing breeding program. The markers can also be used to select toward the genome of the recurrent parent and against the markers of the donor parent. This procedure attempts to minimize the genomic contribution from the donor parent that remains in the selected plants, and can reduce the number of back-crosses necessary to generate coisogenic plants. This procedure is often called genetic marker enhanced selection or marker-assisted selection. Molecular markers may also be used to identify and exclude certain sources of germplasm as parental varieties or ancestors of a plant by providing a means of tracking genetic profiles through crosses.

Mutation breeding is another method of introducing new traits into celery varieties. Mutations that occur spontaneously or are artificially induced can be useful sources of variability for a plant breeder. The goal of artificial mutagenesis is to increase the rate of mutation for a desired characteristic. Mutation rates can be increased by many different means including temperature, long-term seed storage, tissue culture conditions, radiation (such as X-rays, Gamma rays, neutrons, Beta radiation, or ultraviolet radiation), chemical mutagens (such as base analogs like 5-bromo-uracil), alkylating agents (such as sulfur mustards, nitrogen mustards, epoxides, ethyleneamines, sulfates, sulfonates, sulfones, or lactones), azide, hydroxylamine, nitrous acid or acridines. Once a desired phenotype is observed the genetic mutation responsible for that trait may then be incorporated into existing germplasm by traditional breeding techniques. Details of mutation breeding can be found in Principles of Cultivar Development by Fehr, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993.

The production of double haploids can also be used for the development of homozygous varieties in a breeding program. Double haploids are produced by doubling a set of chromosomes from a heterozygous plant to produce a completely homozygous individual. For example, see Wan et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 77:889-892, 1989.

Descriptions of other breeding methods that are commonly used for different traits and crops can be found in several reference books (e.g., Principles of Plant Breeding John Wiley and Son, pp. 115-161, 1960; Allard, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr, 1987; A Carrots and Related Vegetable Umbelliferae@, Rubatzky, V. E., et al., 1999).

Proper testing should detect any major faults and establish the level of superiority or improvement over current cultivars. In addition to showing superior performance, there must be a demand for a new cultivar that is compatible with industry standards or which creates a new market. The introduction of a new cultivar will incur additional costs to the seed producer, the grower, processor and consumer for special advertising and marketing, altered seed and commercial production practices, and new product utilization. The testing preceding release of a new cultivar should take into consideration research and development costs as well as technical superiority of the final cultivar. For seed-propagated cultivars, it must be feasible to produce seed easily and economically.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plant protoplasts, plant cell tissue cultures from which celery plants can be regenerated, plant calli, plant clumps and plant cells that are intact in plants or parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles, suckers and the like.

Industrial Uses of Celery Cultivar TBG31

Celery may be used in a variety of manners including but not limited to, use in salads, soups, being filled with cheese, soybean, vegetable, peanut butter or dairy type products, served raw, cooked, baked or frozen, served as sticks, pieces, dices, or dipped like potato chips.

Tables

In the tables that follow, the traits and characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 are given compared to other cultivars. Color references are made in the Tables are to the Munsell Color Chart.

Table 2 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8, Floribelle and ADS-2 from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Oct. 21, 2012 and evaluated on Jan. 25, 2013 (96 days). The trial was grown under traditional conditions with a population of 35,700 plants per acre. TBG31 and TBG32 were similar for plant height, plant weight and petiole width. TBG32 had a higher number of outer petioles, which were also longer and slightly thinner than those of TBG31. Table 2, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8, column 6 shows the results for Floribelle and column 7 shows the results for ADS-2.

TABLE 2 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle ADS-2 Plant Height (cm) Average 79.4 80.1 87.9 71.1 69.0 74.7 Range (77.0-83.0) (78.0-82.0) (83.0-95.0) (70.0-73.0) (65.0-73.0) (71.0-79.0) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average  1.26  1.32  1.26  1.06  1.02  0.96 Range (1.03-1.39) (1.01-1.53) (0.93-1.73) (0.73-1.34) (0.45-1.89) (0.52-1.33) Trimmed Plant Weight (kg) Average  0.94  1.00  0.92  0.86  0.81  0.75 Range (0.77-1.04) (0.74-1.12) (0.69-1.27) (0.61-1.09) (0.37-1.44) (0.41-1.04) Number of Outer Petioles Average 12.6 15.1 12.0 13.0 12.7 13.5 Range (10.0-15.0) (13.0-21.0) (11.0-14.0)  (9.0-16.0)  (9.0-17.0) (11.0-16.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average  4.4  3.8  3.8  4.9  3.7  4.2 Range (4.0-5.0) (3.0-4.0) (3.0-4.0) (4.0-6.0) (3.0-5.0) (3.0-6.0) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 34.7 36.7 37.6 27.6 30.2 28.6 the joint (cm) Range (32.3-38.0) (34.0-40.0) (33.7-44.0) (23.7-30.3) (28.3-33.0) (24.7-34.0) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 21.9 21.4 21.4 20.1 19.3 19.0 the midrib (mm) Range (20.0-23.7) (19.7-23.0) (20.0-24.0) (18.0-23.0) (16.3-22.7) (15.0-22.0) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average  9.9  9.1  9.3  9.0  8.3  8.3 at the midrib (mm) Range  (8.3-11.0)  (7.7-10.7)  (8.7-10.0)  (8.0-10.3)  (6.3-10.0) (7.0-9.7) Petiole Color 5GY 7/6 5GY 6/6 5GY 7/6 5GY 6/6 5GY 7/8 5GY 6/6 Leaf Color 5GY 4/8 5GY 4/4 5GY 4/6 5GY 4/6 5GY 4/6 5GY 4/6 Smoothness Smooth Smooth/Slight Smooth Slight Rib Rib Rib Rib Petiole Cup Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal Feather Leaf 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% 0%

As shown in Table 2, TBG32 and TBG31 were very similar for plant height and were considerably shorter than ADS-23 and taller than ADS-8, Floribelle and ADS-2. The joint length for TBG31 was slightly shorter compared to TBG32. Floribelle, ADS-8 and ADS-2 were considerably shorter to the joint. TBG32 had the highest whole plant weight and TBG31 and ADS-23 were slightly lower, while Floribelle, ADS-8 and ADS-2 were all considerably lower. A similar relationship existed when the stalks were trimmed to market conditions. TBG32, TBG31 and ADS-23 had similar and wider petioles compared to each of the other varieties. TBG31 had the thickest petioles, while Floribelle and ADS-2 had the thinnest petioles. TBG31 and ADS-23 had smooth petioles, TGB32 had smooth to slightly ribbed petioles similar to ADS-8 and Floribelle and ADS-2 had ribbed petioles. Both TBG31 and TBG32 were free from feather leaf as were ADS-2 and ADS-23. In comparison ADS-8 and Floribelle had severe feather leaf.

Table 3 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8 and Floribelle from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Nov. 28, 2012 and evaluated on Mar. 13, 2013 (105 days). The trial was grown under traditional conditions with a population of 35,700 plants per acre. TBG31 and TBG32 were fairly similar for plant height and number, length, width and thickness of the outer petioles; however, TBG31 out yielded TBG32 as measured by whole plant and trimmed plant weight. Table 3, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 6 shows the results for Floribelle.

TABLE 3 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle Plant Height (cm) Average 80.1 78.4 88.6 68.4 66.7 Range (79-81) (76-83) (86-95) (42-74) (60-73) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average 1.67 1.49 1.62 1.31 1.02 Range (1.17-2.07) (1.25-1.82) (1.15-2.01) (1.03-1.64) (0.55-1.32) Trimmed Plant Weight Average 1.26 1.14 1.17 1.05 0.81 (kg) Range (0.93-1.52) (0.98-1.38) (0.82-1.47) (0.82-1.28) (0.43-1.04) Number of Outer Petioles Average 14.1 14.6 13.0 13.7 12.3 Range (12.0-16.0) (11.0-18.0) (12.0-15.0) (11.0-16.0)  (8.0-17.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average 5.0 3.8 5.2 4.9 4.0 Range (4.0-6.0) (3.0-5.0) (4.0-6.0) (4.0-6.0) (3.0-5.0) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 35.3 36.6 36.8 26.0 27.3 the joint (cm) Range (32.7-37.7) (34.3-41.3) (35.0-38.7) (23.7-28.3) (25.0-29.7) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 24.4 24.4 22.5 22.9 22.1 the midrib (mm) Range (22.3-26.7) (23.3-25.3) (20.3-24.7) (20.7-24.3) (16.7-25.0) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average 10.9 10.3 10.3 9.6 9.2 at the midrib (mm) Range (10.0-11.7)  (9.7-11.3)  (9.0-11.3)  (9.3-10.3)  (7.0-10.3) Petiole Color 5gy 7/6 5gy 6/4-5gy 5gy 7/6 5gy 7/6-5gy 2.5gy 8/6-5gy 7/6 6/6 6/6 Leaf Color 5gy 4/4 5gy 4/6 5gy 4/4 5gy 4/4 5gy 6/8-5gy 4/4 Smoothness Smooth Smooth Smooth/Slight Smooth/Slight Smooth/Slight Rib Rib Rib Petiole Cup Normal Slight/Normal Normal/Deep Normal Normal Node Crack % 40% 40% 0% 100% 30% Brown Stem % 0% 0% 0% 20% 10% Top Pith % 0% 0% 90% 100% 100% Butt Pith % 20% 20% 30% 40% 100% Feather Leaf % 0% 60% 20% 100% 90%

As shown in Table 3, TBG31 had shorter height compared to ADS-23 but was considerably taller than Floribelle. TBG31 was comparable to ADS-23 for whole plant weight and slightly higher compared to TBG32. TBG31 and TBG32 were heavier than ADS-8 and Floribelle when stalks were trimmed for market. TBG31 had the best overall yield, while TBG32 and ADS-23 were similar and only better than ADS-8 and Floribelle. TBG31 and TBG32 were very similar for outer petiole count, while ADS-23 and ADS-8 were more similar and better than Floribelle. TBG31 and TBG32 were smoother than the other varieties and had moderate node crack most similar to Floribelle. ADS-23 was free from node crack while ADS-8 was significantly impacted. TBG31 and TBG32 were free from brown stem, top pith and lower pith in the butt; however, TBG32 had considerably higher levels of feather leaf compare to TBG31.

Table 4 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8 and Floribelle from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Nov. 21, 2013 and evaluated on Mar. 4, 2014 (103 days). The trial was grown under traditional conditions with a population of 35,700 plants per acre. TBG31 and TBG32 were very similar for plant height, length to joint, petiole width and thickness; however, TBG31 had greater whole and trimmed weight and outer petiole count and also had less pith. Table 4, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 6 shows the results for Floribelle.

TABLE 4 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle Plant Height (cm) Average 83.7 83.0 90.3 74.3 73.7 Range (82.0-85.0) (81.0-86.0) (85.0-96.0) (70.0-79.0) (72.0-76.0) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average 1.81 1.32 1.48 1.36 1.12 Range (1.55-2.07) (1.11-1.50) (1.21-1.71) (0.83-1.62) (0.78-1.42) Trimmed Plant Weight Average 1.35 0.99 1.04 1.11 0.87 (kg) Range (1.04-1.57) (0.85-1.13) (0.83-1.20) (0.67-1.32) (0.61-1.07) Number of Outer Petioles Average 18.4 15.4 16.2 14.9 15.0 Range (15.0-22.0) (13.0-18.0) (13.0-19.0) (12.0-17.0) (13.0-17.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average 5.3 5.0 5.5 4.9 4.5 Range (5.0-6.0) (4.0-6.0) (4.0-7.0) (3.0-6.0) (3.0-6.0) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 34.4 35.3 33.3 27.4 27.6 the joint (cm) Range (32.3-38.0) (33.0-38.3) (29.7-36.3) (25.0-31.0) (25.0-31.0) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 22.2 21.2 21.0 21.3 18.4 the midrib (mm) Range (20.3-24.0) (18.3-23.3) (17.7-22.3) (17.7-23.7)  (9.7-21.3) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average 9.7 9.6 9.8 10.1 9.1 at the midrib (mm) Range   (7-10.7)  (8.7-10.7) (7.3-11)    (8-11.7)   (7-10.7) Petiole Color 5gy 6/6 5gy 6/6 5gy 7/6 5gy 6/6 5gy 5/6-5gy 5gy 7/6 5gy 6/6 6/6 Leaf Color 5gy 3/4 5gy 3/4 5gy 3/4 5gy 4/6 5gy 4/8 Smoothness Smooth Smooth Smooth Smooth/Slight Rib Rib Petiole Cup Normal Slight/Normal Normal Normal Slight/Normal Node Crack % 0% 0% 0% 70% 0% Brown Stem % 0% 0% 0% 0% 60% Pith % 20% 70% 60% 100% 100% Feather Leaf % 0% 0% 0% 100% 100%

As shown in Table 4, TBG31 and TBG32 were similar for plant height and were longer than ADS-8 and Floribelle and shorter than ADS-23. TBG31 had greater whole and trimmed weight compared to all of the cultivars and also had the greatest number of outer petioles. TBG31 and TBG32 were most similar to ADS-23 and ADS-8 for petiole width and thickness. Under the conditions of this planting TBG31 and TBG32 were relatively free from defects compared to the other cultivars present, the exception being pith. TBG31 had the least pith of all cultivars and TBG32 was most similar to ADS-23 which had moderate pith.

Table 5 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8 and Floribelle from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Jan. 30, 2013 and evaluated Apr. 30, 2013 (90 days). The trial was grown under traditional conditions with a population of 35,700 plants per acre. TBG32 produced a taller plant with taller petioles but had similar outer petiole count and lower yield as measured by trimmed stalk weight compared to TBG31. Petiole width and thickness were similar for TBG31 and TBG32. Table 5, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 6 shows the results for Floribelle.

TABLE 5 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle Plant Height (cm) Average 70.8 74.9 86.4 71.3 68.5 Range (69.0-73.0) (73.0-80.0) (81.0-90.0) (68.0-75.0) (66.0-72.0) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average 1.07 0.91 1.08 1.04 1.11 Range (0.91-1.32) (0.75-1.10) (0.90-1.26) (0.85-1.18) (0.94-1.42) Trimmed Plant Weight Average 0.83 0.71 0.87 0.83 0.89 (kg) Range (0.71-1.05) (0.57-0.82) (0.68-1.04) (0.68-0.98) (0.73-1.16) Number of Outer Petioles Average 12.1 11.8 11.7 11.7 12.3 Range (10.0-14.0) (10.0-13.0) (10.0-13.0) (11.0-13.0) (10.0-14.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average 8.5 7.5 9.6 8.4 9.1 Range  (7.0-10.0) (6.0-9.0) (8.0-12.0)  (7.0-10.0)  (8.0-10.0) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 34.3 36.2 33.8 30.4 30.9 the joint (cm) Range (31.3-36.3) (35.3-37.7) (29.0-39.0) (29.0-33.0) (27.3-38.3) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 19.3 19.2 19.0 18.9 20.7 the midrib (mm) Range (16.7-20.7) (17.7-21.0) (17.7-21.0) (17.0-20.3) (19.0-23.3) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average 8.3 8.6 8.8 8.8 9.2 at the midrib (mm) Range (7.7-9.7) (7.3-9.3)  (8.0-10.0) (8.0-9.7)  (7.7-10.3) Length of Seed Stem (cm) Average 0 0 0 0.3 0 Range (0-0) (0-0) (0-0) (0-1) (0-0) Median 0 0 0 0 0 Petiole Color 5gy 7/8 5gy 6/6 5gy 7/8 5gy 6/6 2.5gy 6/8 Leaf Color 7.5gy 4/6 7.5gy 4/6 7.5gy 4/6 5gy 4/8 7.5gy 4/6 Smoothness Smooth/Slight Slight Rib/Rib Slight Rib Slight Rib Rib Rib Petiole Cup Normal Slight/Normal Normal Normal Slight/Flat

As shown in Table 5, TBG31 was shorter than TBG32 and ADS-23 and was most similar to Floribelle and ADS-8; TBG31 also had the second longest petiole. Floribelle had the best trimmed plant weight while TBG31 was very similar to ADS-8. TBG32 had the weakest stalk yield as measured by stalk weight. Under these spring conditions TBG31 was most similar to Floribelle for higher outer petiole count. TBG31 and TBG32 were similar for petiole width but both also had considerably thinner petioles.

Table 6 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8 and Floribelle from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Feb. 4, 2014 and evaluated May 4, 2014 (89 days). The trial was grown under traditional conditions with a population of 35,700 plants per acre. TBG31 and TBG32 were fairly similar for plant height, number and length of the outer petioles; however, TBG31 produced greater whole and trimmed weight and had wider and thicker petioles. Table 6, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 6 shows the results for Floribelle.

TABLE 6 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle Plant Height (cm) Average 70.3 72.5 84.3 71.5 66.0 Range (65.0-72.5)  (70.0-76.25)) (80.0-90.0) (68.8-77.5) (62.5-68.8) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average 1.20 1.05 1.19 1.17 1.15 Range (0.95-1.40) (0.89-1.19) (1.03-1.38) (0.96-1.36) (0.93-1.51) Trimmed Plant Weight Average 0.94 0.81 0.84 0.95 0.91 (kg) Range (0.77-1.16) (0.66-1.06) (0.75-0.99) (0.79-1.12) (0.74-1.15) Number of Outer Petioles Average 13.3 13.3 13.9 14.3 13.1 Range (11.0-16.0) (11.0-16.0) (12.0-17.0) (14.0-16.0) (11.0-14.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average 8.8 6.2 7.5 6.9 9 Range  (7.0-10.0) (5.0-8.0)  (6.0-10.0) (6.0-9.0)  (7.0-12.0) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 33.0 34.5 34.0 28.8 28.0 the joint (in) Range (30.8-34.5) (32.5-36.3) (31.8-36.8) (27.5-31.8) (25.8-30.0) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 24.9 23.5 19.20 24.8 21.2 the midrib (mm) Range (23.3-26.7) (21.0-27.0) (17.0-20.3) (22.3-27.0) (18.3-27.7) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average 12.7 10.8 10.7 11.5 10.7 at the midrib (mm) Range (11.7-13.3)  (9.3-12.0)  (8.7-15.7)  (9.7-12.3)  (9.7-13.0) Petiole Color 5gy 7/8 2.5gy 8/8 2.5gy 8/8 2.5gy 8/10 5gy 7/8 Leaf Color 5gy 5/10 5gy 6/8 5gy 6/10 5gy 5/6 5gy 5/8 Smoothness Smooth Smooth/Slight Smooth Slight Rib Slight Rib Rib Petiole Cup Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal

As shown in Table 6, TBG31 and TBG32 were most similar to ADS-8 for plant height and Floribelle for number of outer petioles. TBG31 was most similar to ADS-23 and ADS-8 for whole stalk weight and Floribelle and ADS-8 for trimmed weight. TBG32 had the lowest whole stalk weight and was most similar to Floribelle for trimmed weight. Floribelle and ADS-8 had considerably less outer petioles compared to TBG31. TBG31 had the thickest petioles of all of the varieties and TBG32 was most similar to Floribelle and ADS-23. TBG31 and ADS-23 had the smoothest of petioles while TBG32 was slightly smoother than Floribelle and ADS-8.

Table 7 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8, Floribelle and ADS-2 from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Oct. 21, 2012 and evaluated Jan. 26, 2013 (97 days). The trial was grown under untraditional higher density conditions with a population of 39,100 plants per acre. The petioles of TBG31 were wider and thicker compared to those of TBG32. Table 7, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8, column 6 shows the results for Floribelle and column 7 shows the results for ADS-2.

TABLE 7 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle ADS-2 Plant Height (cm) Average 81.3 75.7 90.0 72.6 71.1 80.6 Range (79.0-84.0) (72.0-78.0) (87.0-94.0) (68.0-75.0) (68.0-74.0) (74.0-86.0) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average  1.45  1.25  1.56  1.22  1.07  1.09 Range (1.04-1.88) (0.95-1.61) (1.16-1.91) (0.81-1.79) (0.68-1.48) (0.71-1.31) Trimmed Plant Weight (kg) Average  1.10  0.98  1.12  1.01  0.82  0.83 Range (0.79-1.44) (0.76-1.28) (0.79-1.41) (0.70-1.42) (0.54-1.09) (0.56-0.98) Number of Outer Petioles Average 13.5 14.9 14.0 15.3 13.4 12.1 Range (11.0-17.0) (12.0-18.0) (11.0-17.0) (14.0-19.0) (12.0-15.0) (11.0-13.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average  5.1  5.0  5.6  4.5  4.5  5.1 Range (4.0-6.0) (4.0-7.0) (4.0-8.0) (3-6) (3-7) (4-6) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 34.2 36.0 34.8 26.4 30.7 28.0 the joint (cm) Range (30.7-36.3) (34.7-38.7) (32.3-36.7) (22.0-31.3) (25.3-32.7) (24.3-35.0) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 23.1 21.9 21.4 19.9 20.4 20.0 the midrib (mm) Range (21.3-25.0) (19.3-26.3) (18.7-23.7) (17.0-22.3) (17.3-25.3) (18.3-21.7) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average 10.2  9.0  9.7  9.3  8.5  9.3 at the midrib (mm) Range  (9.7-11.0)  (8.0-10.0)  (8.3-10.7)  (7.3-10.3)  (7.3-10.0)  (8.3-10.3) Petiole Color 5GY 6/6 5GY 6/6 5GY 7/6 5GY 6/6 5GY 7/7 5GY 7/6 Leaf Color 5GY 4/6 5GY 4/4 5GY 4/6 5GY 3/4 5GY 4/6 5GY 4/4 Smoothness Smooth Smooth S1 Ribby S1 Ribby Ribby Ribby Petiole Cup Normal Slight/Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal Node Crack % 0% 0%  0% 80%  0%  0% Brown Stem % 0% 0%  0%  0% 10% 10% Pith % 0% 0% 80% 90% 80% 20% Feather Leaf % 0% 50%  50% 100%  100%  20%

As shown in Table 7, TBG31 is taller than all varieties except ADS-23 and is most similar to ADS-2 in height; however TBG32 has a taller joint length more similar to TBG31 and ADS-23, but averaged slightly longer than both. The whole stalk weight and trimmed stalk weight of TBG31 were the second highest and most similar to ADS-23. Floribelle and ADS-2 were considerably lower yielding by stalk weight. TGB31 had the largest petiole width. TBG31 and TBG32 had less defects compared to each of the varieties: ADS-8 had bad node cracks, Floribelle and ADS-2 had slight brown stem. TBG31 and TBG32 were the only varieties free from pith; however, TBG32 like each of the varieties had feather leaf whereas TBG31 was free from feather leaf. TBG31 and TBG32 were also smooth whereas each of the other varieties was either ribby or lightly ribby. The petiole color of TBG31, TBG32 and ADS-8 were similar and darker than the other varieties. Of these three varieties the leaf color was intermediate between ADS-8 (darker) and TBG31 (paler).

Table 8 shows a comparison of characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31 versus celery cultivars TBG32, ADS-23, ADS-8 and Floribelle from a trial transplanted in Belle Glade, Fla. on Oct. 9, 2013 and evaluated Jan. 18, 2014 (101 days). The trial was grown under non-traditional conditions with a population of 39,100 plants per acre and was grown under conditions of extreme boron deficiency. TBG31 and TBG32 were most similar for whole and trimmed plant weight, length of outer petioles petiole width; however, TBG31 was taller and TBG32 had greater petiole count. Table 8, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 6 shows the results for Floribelle.

TABLE 8 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Floribelle Plant Height (cm) Average 86.4 83.0 88.1 77.4 79.2 Range (80.0-90.0) (79.0-85.0) (84.0-91.0) (73.0-82.0) (74.0-88.0) Whole Plant Weight (kg) Average 1.39 1.46 1.34 1.32 1.24 Range (1.07-1.95) (1.23-1.91) (0.99-1.60) (0.83-1.74) (1.00-1.64) Trimmed Plant Weight Average 1.00 1.04 0.93 1.09 0.91 (kg) Range (0.79-1.37) (0.86-1.34) (0.70-1.11) (0.70-1.39) (0.73-1.17) Number of Outer Petioles Average 15.20 17.00 15.80 17.00 15.00 Range (13.0-18.0) (14.0-21.0) (13.0-18.0) (16.0-19.0) (13.0-18.0) Number of Inner Petioles Average 2.9 2.3 3.3 2.7 2.7 Range (2.0-4.0) (2.0-3.0) (2.0-5.0) (2.0-3.0) (2.0-4.0) Length of Outer Petioles to Average 35.3 34.9 32.9 25.9 27.2 the joint (cm) Range (29.3-37.7) (29.7-38.7) (29.0-36.7) (24.0-29.3) (23.7-31.0) Width of Outer Petioles at Average 19.5 20.4 19.0 20.0 19.0 the midrib (mm) Range (17.3-20.3) (19.0-21.7) (18.3-20.0) (15.7-22.3) (16.7-20.7) Thickness of Outer Petioles Average 10.2 9.5 9.0 9.7 9.2 at the midrib (mm) Range  (9.0-11.7)  (9.0-10.7)  (8.0-10.0)  (8.3-11.0)  (8.7-10.0) Smoothness Smooth Smooth Smooth Smooth Slight Rib Petiole Cup Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal Marketable % 100% 90% 100% 0% 0% Node Crack % 0% 0% 0% 60% 0% Brown Stem % 0% 0% 10% 70% 100% Pith % 0% 30% 100% 100% 100% Boron Rating 4 3 5 1 4 (1 = susceptible, 5 = tolerant)

As shown in Table 8, TBG31 and ADS-23 were the tallest plants while TBG32 was moderate in height and taller than ADS-8 and Floribelle. While TBG31 and TBG32 were most similar to ADS-8 for trimmed weight they were improved compared to ADS-23 and Floribelle. TBG32 was most similar to ADS-8 for highest petiole count and TBG31 was most similar to ADS-23 and Floribelle for lower petiole count. All of the varieties had smooth petioles except for Floribelle, which was slightly ribby. Under the extreme boron deficiency conditions that these varieties were grown TBG31 showed the greatest tolerance to node crack, brown stem and pith. TBG31 was also most similar to Floribelle for brown stem tolerance and slightly less than ADS-23 which was the most tolerant. Both TBG31 and TBG32 were improved compared to all of the varieties for pith. Between the pith, brown stem and node crack ADS-8 and Floribelle were considered to be not marketable

Table 9 shows a comparison between celery cultivar TBG31 versus TBG32, ADS-23 and ADS-8 under conditions of very severe bolting pressure. The trial was transplanted Dec. 12, 2012 in a non-traditional celery production region (Santa Paula) for the winter months in California. Santa Paula is considered a non-traditional production area during winter due to potential exposure to very high levels of cold hours, which significantly increase the risk of bolting. This trial was evaluated twice for bolting. The first evaluation was Apr. 4, 2014 (113 days) after 849.5 hours of exposure to temperatures below 50° C. The second evaluation was Apr. 16, 2014 (125 days) after 908.5 hours of exposure to temperatures below 50° C. Top height and petiole length were both noted Apr. 16, 2014 Table 9, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-23 and column 5 shows the results for ADS-8.

TABLE 9 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-23 ADS-8 Plant Height (cm) Average 89.1 87.5 93.8 81.0 Range (80.0-95.0) (80.0-93.0) (90.0-98.0) (74.0-86.0) Length of Outer Petioles to the joint Average 47.0 50.1 47.4 39.2 (cm) Range (44.0-50.3) (41.0-54.7) (41.0-54.0) (35.0-43.0) Length of Seed Stems (cm; Apr. 4, Average 5.9 6 1.3 12.8 2014) Range  (2-10) (4-8) (0-5)  (8-16) Median 6.5 6 1 14 Length of Seed Stems (cm; Apr. Average 15.3 14.5 4.65 28.8 16, 2014) Range  (4-28)  (9-23)  (0-11) (16-40) Median 15 14 4 30

As shown in Table 9, under colder conditions that promote bolting, TBG31 and TBG32 are similar and moderately tolerant to bolting when compared to ADS-23 and ADS-8, as measured by the length of the seed stem at two data collection dates (Apr. 4, 2014 and Apr. 16, 2014). ADS-23 was the most tolerant to bolting and ADS-8 considerably very susceptible. TBG31 and TBG32 were fairly similar for plant height while shorter than ADS-23 and taller than ADS-8; however, TBG32 had the longest petioles as measured to the joint and TBG31 was similar to ADS-23.

Table 10 shows the results of a celery trial that was grown in Belle Glade, Fla. which was intentionally inoculated with Cercospora for the purpose of evaluating varietal differences for Cercospora tolerance. The trial was evaluated in February 2012 when Cercospora was uniformily infecting the border rows. Table 10, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-8, column 5 shows the results for Floribelle, column 6 shows the results for ADS-23 and column 7 shows the results for ADS-2.

TABLE 10 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-8 Floribelle ADS-23 ADS-2 Cercospora Rating Average 4.3 1 8.3 1 9 8 (1 = Resistant, 9 = Susceptible) Range (3-5) (1-1) (7-9) (1-1) (9-9) (7-9)

As shown in Table 10, TBG31 was surprisingly moderate for tolerance to Cercospora, while TBG32 and Floribelle were very tolerant. ADS-8, ADS-23 and ADS-2 were considered susceptible.

Table 11 shows the results of a celery trial that was grown in Byron Center, Mich. Bacterial blight is endemic under certain natural growing conditions and is not easily controlled except by variety tolerance. Bacterial blight ratings were made on Aug. 18, 2013. Table 11, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 5 shows the results for Dutchess.

TABLE 11 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-8 Dutchess Bacterial Blight Rating 6 2 6 9 (1 = Resistant, 9 = Susceptible)

As shown in Table 11, TBG31 and ADS-8 were fairly susceptible, while TBG32 was fairly tolerant to bacterial blight. Dutchess was susceptible and considered the susceptible check.

Table 12 shows the results of a celery trial that was grown in Byron Center, Mich. Bacterial blight is endemic under certain natural growing conditions and is not easily controlled except by variety tolerance. Bacterial blight ratings were made on Aug. 17, 2014. Table 12, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for Floribelle, column 5 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 6 shows the results for Dutchess.

TABLE 12 TBG31 TBG32 Floribelle ADS-8 Dutchess Bacterial Blight 8 6 8 6 9 Rating (1 = Resistant, 9 = Susceptible)

As shown in Table 12, TBG31 and Floribelle were moderately susceptible to bacterial blight, while TBG32 and ADS-8 were the most tolerant to bacterial blight. Dutchess was susceptible and considered the susceptible check.

Table 13 shows the results of a celery trial that was grown in Byron Center, Mich. at a location that has been observed to recurrently be infected with Colletotrichum. The intent of the trial was to evaluate different celery varieties for differences for tolerance. The trial was evaluated on Sep. 8, 2012 when Colletotrichum had reached sufficient levels for evaluation. Unfortunately, the levels of infection were a little lower than desired but significant differences were observed. Table 13, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the results for TBG31, column 3 shows the results for TBG32, column 4 shows the results for ADS-8 and column 5 shows the results for ADS-1.

TABLE 13 TBG31 TBG32 ADS-8 ADS-1 Colletotrichum Rating 1 2 2 5 (1 = Resistant, 9 = Susceptible)

As shown in Table 13, TBG31 was slightly more tolerant to Colletotrichum than TBG32 and ADS-8, and all were significantly more tolerant than ADS-1.

Table 14 shows a comparison between celery cultivars TBG31 and ADS-8 in Belle Glade, Fla. that was transplanted on Oct. 8, 2013 and harvested on Dec. 28, 2013 at 81 days. In this production trial, both varieties were grown in adjacent blocks at a population of 35,200 plants per acre. Table 14, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the acres, column 3 shows the percentage of 2 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 4 shows the percentage of 2.5 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 5 shows the percentage of 3 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 6 shows the percentage of heart size stalks harvested, column 7 shows the total cartons harvested, column 8 shows the cartons per acre and column 9 shows the average joint length range in centimeters (cm).

TABLE 14 2 Dozen 2.5 Dozen 3 Dozen Total Cartons Cartons Average Joint Acres Count Count Count Hearts Harvested per Acre range (cm) TBG31 4.15 34% 53% 11% 2% 3,182 767 37.5-40.0 ADS-8 1.56  2% 81% 11% 6% 1,433 919 27.5-30.0

As shown in Table 14, TBG31 underperformed ADS-8 for total yield, but TBG31 had a higher percentage of marketable stalks, higher percentage of larger sizes (2 dozen and 2 dozen plus 2.5 dozen count) and longer average petiole length to the joint.

Table 15 shows a comparison between cultivars TBG31 and ADS-8 in Belle Glade, Fla. that was transplanted Nov. 4, 2013 and harvested Jan. 24, 2014 at 81 days. In this production trial both varieties were grown in adjacent blocks at a population of 39,100 plants per acre. Table 15, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the acres, column 3 shows the percentage of 2 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 4 shows the percentage of 2.5 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 5 shows the percentage of 3 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 6 shows the percentage of heart size stalks harvested, column 7 shows the total cartons harvested, column 8 shows the cartons per acre and column 9 shows the average joint length range in centimeters (cm).

TABLE 15 2 Dozen 2.5 Dozen 3 Dozen Total Cartons Cartons Average Joint Acres Count Count Count Hearts Harvested per Acre Length (cm) TBG31 1.81 16% 33% 26% 24% 1,798 993 30.0-35.0 ADS-8 4.96 30% 52% 17%  0% 5′346 1,077 25.0-27.5

As shown in Table 15, TBG31 underperformed ADS-8 for total yield and percentage of large sizes (2 dozen and 2 dozen plus 2.5 dozen count), but TBG31 had longer average petiole length to the joint.

Table 16 shows a comparison between cultivars TBG31. ADS-8 and ADS-23 in Belle Glade, Fla. that was transplanted Dec. 7, 2013 and harvested Mar. 10, 2014 at 93 days. In this production trial the cultivars were grown in adjacent blocks at a population of 35,200 plants per acre. Table 16, column 1 shows the characteristic, column 2 shows the acres, column 3 shows the percentage of 2 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 4 shows the percentage of 2.5 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 5 shows the percentage of 3 dozen count size stalks harvested, column 6 shows the percentage of heart size stalks harvested, column 7 shows the total cartons harvested, column 8 shows the cartons per acre and column 9 shows the average joint length range in centimeters (cm).

TABLE 16 2 Dozen 2.5 Dozen 3 Dozen Total Cartons Cartons Average Joint Acres Count Count Count Hearts Harvested per Acre Length (cm) TBG31 2.43 53% 30% 16% 0% 2,696 1,109 27.5-32.5 ADS-8 2.24 45% 45%  9% 0% 2,172 970 25.0-27.5 ADS-23 2.43 30% 48% 12% 10%  2,807 1,155 32.5-37.5

As shown in Table 16, TBG31 outperformed ADS-8 and ADS-23 for total yield and percentage 2 dozen count; however, ADS-8 out performed TBG31 and ADS-23 for percentage large sizes (2 dozen+2.5 count) while TBG31 outperformed ADS-23. TBG31 was intermediate to ADS-8 and ADS-23 for average petiole length as measured by length to the joint.

The use of the terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. For example, if the range 10-15 is disclosed, then 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A deposit of the A. Duda & Sons, Inc. proprietary CELERY CULTIVAR TBG31disclosed above and recited in the appended claims has been made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Virginia 20110. The date of deposit was May 10, 2016. The deposit of 2,500 seeds was taken from the same deposit maintained by A. Duda & Sons, Inc. since prior to the filing date of this application. All restrictions will be irrevocably removed upon granting of a patent, and the deposit is intended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§1.801-1.809. The ATCC Accession Number is PTA-123109. The deposit will be maintained in the depository for a period of thirty years, or five years after the last request, or for the enforceable life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced as necessary during that period.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A seed of celery cultivar TBG31, wherein a representative sample seed of said cultivar was deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-123109.
 2. A celery plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the seed of claim
 1. 3. A tissue culture produced from protoplasts or cells from the plant of claim 2, wherein said cells or protoplasts are produced from a plant part selected from the group consisting of leaf, callus, pollen, ovule, embryo, cotyledon, hypocotyl, meristematic cell, root, root tip, pistil, anther, flower, seed, shoot, stem, petiole and sucker.
 4. A celery plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 3, wherein the plant has all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of cultivar TBG31.
 5. A method for producing a celery seed, said method comprising crossing two celery plants and harvesting the resultant celery seed, wherein at least one celery plant is the celery plant of claim
 2. 6. An F₁ celery seed produced by the method of claim
 5. 7. An F₁ celery plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing said seed of claim
 6. 8. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one of said celery plants is transgenic.
 9. A method of producing a herbicide resistant celery plant, wherein said method comprises introducing a gene conferring herbicide resistance into the plant of claim
 2. 10. A herbicide resistant celery plant produced by the method of claim 9, wherein the gene confers resistance to a herbicide selected from the group consisting of glyphosate, sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, dicamba, glufosinate, phenoxy proprionic acid, L-phosphinothricin, cyclohexone, cyclohexanedione, triazine, and benzonitrile, wherein said plant comprises said gene and otherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31.
 11. A method of producing a pest or insect resistant celery plant, wherein said method comprises introducing a gene conferring pest or insect resistance into the celery plant of claim
 2. 12. A pest or insect resistant celery plant produced by the method of claim 11, wherein said plant comprises said gene and otherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31.
 13. The celery plant of claim 12, wherein the gene encodes a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxin, wherein said plant comprises said gene and otherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31.
 14. A method of producing a disease resistant celery plant, wherein said method comprises introducing a gene into the celery plant of claim
 2. 15. A disease resistant celery plant produced by the method of claim 14, wherein said plant comprises said gene and otherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31.
 16. A method for producing a male sterile celery plant, wherein said method comprises transforming the celery plant of claim 2 with a nucleic acid molecule that confers male sterility.
 17. A male sterile celery plant produced by the method of claim 16, wherein said plant comprises said nucleic acid and otherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31.
 18. A method of introducing a desired trait into celery cultivar TBG31, wherein the method comprises: (a) crossing a TBG31 plant, wherein a representative sample of seed was deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-123109 , with a plant of another celery cultivar that comprises a desired trait to produce progeny plants, wherein the desired trait is selected from the group consisting of improved nutritional quality, industrial usage, male sterility, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, modified seed yield, modified lodging resistance, modified iron-deficiency chlorosis and resistance to bacterial disease, fungal disease or viral disease; (b) selecting one or more progeny plants that have the desired trait to produce selected progeny plants; (c) backcrossing the selected progeny plants with the TBG31 plants to produce backcross progeny plants; (d) selecting for backcross progeny plants that have the desired trait; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) two or more times in succession to produce selected third or higher backcross progeny plants that comprise the desired trait.
 19. A celery plant produced by the method of claim 18, wherein the plant has the desired trait and otherwise all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31.
 20. The celery plant of claim 19, wherein the desired trait is herbicide resistance and the resistance is conferred to a herbicide selected from the group consisting of imidazolinone, dicamba, cyclohexanedione, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate, phenoxy proprionic acid, L-phosphinothricin, triazine and benzonitrile.
 21. The celery plant of claim 19, wherein the desired trait is insect resistance and the insect resistance is conferred by a gene encoding a Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin.
 22. The celery plant of claim 19, wherein the desired trait is male sterility and the trait is conferred by a cytoplasmic nucleic acid molecule.
 23. A method of producing a celery plant with modified fatty acid metabolism or modified carbohydrate metabolism comprising transforming the celery plant of claim 2 with a transgene encoding a protein selected from the group consisting of fructosyltransferase, levansucrase, α-amylase, invertase and starch branching enzyme or DNA encoding an antisense of stearyl-ACP desaturase.
 24. A celery plant having modified fatty acid metabolism or modified carbohydrate metabolism produced by the method of claim 23, wherein said plant comprises said transgene and otherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivar TBG31. 